Eric: We are starting the AMA with Sylo.io — Let us all welcome @dorian_nz
Dorian: Hi all. Good to be here.
Eric: Hi @dorian_nz, so first of all. can you introduce urself to the AMA room crowd?
Dorian: Sure thing
I’m co-founder and business director of Sylo
A decentralized communications protocol project
Eric: So tell us about your past. what was your career and how did you end up in crypto
Dorian: Course
I came from an extensive digital consulting background. focusing on aiding small and mid-size businesses to handle their digital marketing through social platforms such as Facebook. I build up a firm based on this service.
through this process gained a unique insight into exactly how much data was being captured, harvested, and monetized around users without their knowledge.
on the back of this, decided to get together some like-minded acquaintances and found a company to build a communications platform that put the user at the center and removed the centralized data harvesting model, to let people communicate online without the negatives/downsides
launched a V1 app in 2017 which was a private messenger for professionals — lawyers, mental health professionals, financial advisors — professionals that didn’t want their confidential communications stored in the cloud.
this platform was build using p2p and decentralized tech
in late 2017, we linked up with a blockchain group in new Zealand called centrality, and connected the dots between delivering a private messenger, combined with digital asset support
have been building that for the past 2–3 years. dApps called the Sylo Smart Wallet, now used by 250k+ users across 70+ countries
Eric: Nice. So this is Sylo, right? Can you tell us more about its features?
Dorian: Yip
In a nutshell, Sylo Smart Wallet is a private messenger combined with a crypto wallet. But Sylo protocol is the engine that sits behind it that facilitates fully decentralized, encrypted messaging, calling, and data storage.
That’s where the bulk of the dev has gone
more info on each can be found at https://sylo.io/wallet/ or https://sylo.io/
Eric: So the decentralized messenger part of the product is well understood. Can you tell us about the Smart Money part of it?
Dorian: Of course.
The smart money piece is related to leveraging digital assets/crypto for purposes that extend into the mainstream commercial landscape.
Focusing on the programmable money aspects of crypto that let characteristics and features get baked into money for particular purposes.
Eric: Can you cite examples of unique stuff you can do with money via Sylo?
Dorian: One key example, that we currently have under development, is working with a major fast-food chain in enabling a native smart currency that lets them use as the next-gen form of loyalty point. Will let them distribute and do things like adjusting the value during slow periods at their outlets to increase the value of the smart money to encourage patronage at their stores.
Eric: very interesting
Dorian: Another example is related to targeted stimulus, where rather than govt spending/stimulus being done via sending money to citizens' bank accounts. They can instead issue smart credits that ensure that stimulus is only spent at various industry merchants in particular regions to better target and use stimulus funding. We also have an active conversation going on in this area.
Eric: Wow. this is another level of usefulness.
very exciting
What can you tell us about the token — SYLO. what are its utility and functions?
Dorian: SYLO tokens primary use is as part of the node network that we are deploying later this month. As part of this deployment, being a decentralized communications network, we’re launching the ability for users to use their devices to contribute to the network and provide the capacity to facilitate user communications across the world. In return for this service, users will have the ability to stake to host and earn tokens in return for the resources/services provided to the network.
Eric: is SYLO running on ethereum?
Dorian: If you want a deep dive into it, you can check out our 2 whitepapers, available here: https://sylo.io/token/#whitepapers
Eric: What can you tell us about the team behind it. How big is it now?
Dorian: the token is currently erc20 yes, but the app integrates multiple chains.
Dorian: sure. we’re 20 strong, covering the whole team. very international spread, but mostly based at our HQ in Auckland NZ. very vast skill set, including some very niche, focused devs.
Eric: Anything you can share with regards to the traction of the app?
Dorian: yea
we’re over 300k users now, and we’re expecting a significant bump in the viral metric once we launch our version 2 in a couple of weeks
which we’re pretty amped about
particularly strong adoption regions we've seen
India, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, japan
getting a lot of traction in regions that have large numbers of the unbanked population
Eric: awesome numbers! so many projects are in the low range in terms of adoption
Let's move on to community questions. Please ready your questions, everyone!
Community AMA
Q: What are the ways that SYLO generates profits/revenue to maintain your project and what is its revenue model? How can it make benefit win-win to both investors and your project?
A: 100% we have a few channels. we actively work on commercial collaborations, such as those mentioned earlier, that actually involve up font development fees from the clients and partners (a few of those in the works, you’ll see the first yield of that before xmas). we’re also in the process of integrating exchange functions directly within the app, which will yield fees/revenue similar to a crypto exchange. based on the number of users in the app, this will bring in significant resources to maintain development. we also intend to offer additional user customizations such as NFTs within the app marketplace. we’re also launching stake social defi functions to bring the token more and more into play.
Q: Does the Sylo Protocol and the Sylo Smart Wallet have the same functions or there’s a difference between both?
A: Sylo Protocol is the engine (communications stack, enables decentralized messaging, calling, and data storage), sylo smart wallet is an app built on the sylo protocol. we expect many more apps to build on top of sylo protocol.
Q: Trust is very important in business, what makes investors, customers, and users feel safe when working with Sylo wallet?
A: Has been built from the ground up using decentralized technologies, so we do not capture, harvest, or monetize data. we don’t even see it. it’s the most private form of communication you can get on the open web.
Q: You recently upgraded to Sylo Network V2. What new features were added and how will they benefit developers and builders? What necessitated the upgrade?
A: two key elements. a raft of performance improvements that will make the UX a lot more snappy, such as taking transactions off-chain that don’t need to be, that we were still using with the v1 release. secondly, the sylo nodes will be released along with v2 enabling the introduction of a truly decentralized, user-supported, and hosted network, that runs on the sylo token.
Q: What are the use cases of the end-to-end Smart Money solution for governments? Do you have plans to target the Southeast Asian market?
A: Regarding the government, the primary one we’re focusing on now is to provide a better for a deploying stimulus to help economic post covid. lets spending be deployed in a much more transparent, trackable, and specific way using blockchain. we’re aiming to pull off our first big deployment, and if successful, could easily be picked up and used in multiple other countries around the world such as within SEA.
Q: How do I run a Sylo Node and contribute to the development of Sylo Network? What opportunities and incentives are available for me to benefit in Sylo Ecosystem?
A: good question. we’ve actually just released a whole developer series detailing the specifics of this. jump on to our company medium blog, you’ll find there 👍
Q: All project coins have their main Utilities & real-life use case! So, Can you tell us what is the main role of your coin in your ecosystem? Explain its Utilities & Real-Life use cases? and Why should I invest in your coin for the long term?
A: good Q., unlike many other tech, plays in this space, we have achieved a significant number of users adopt our app. as far as I’m aware there are not many that have hit the 250k+ mark. our token is directly tied into the node network that is being deployed to a userbase of over a quarter-million users. in addition, we’re introducing social defi components in Q1 next year that will be based on stake to access models. if you connect the dots between actual token use and a growing userbase. you should start to get the picture.
Q: Sylo mobile-only, or will there be support for desktop & browser implementations?
A: ios and android only at this stage. we do have a dev version of desktop that we use in the house, but we haven’t launched it publicly yet. we are actually getting a few requests for desktop these days, so we might accelerate launching that, maybe Q1
Q: How secure are the details of users using the Sylo application, how do you ensure information like voice or video calls cannot be accessed by the public, can I get more information on your security and encryption?
A: calling uses p2p and is fully end to end encrypted. so it’s pretty secure ;)
Q: Are there any plans for Non-Fungible Tokens on your platform? What is its role within the Sylo platform? Also, how do your users benefit from them?
A: 100% NFTs are definitely something we’re looking into. we’re actually planning on launching our first NFTs on CennzNet, which is the blockchain built by one of our close partners' Centrality. Likely early next year before you see them in-app.
Q: Can you explain how Sylo Social DeFi works? What audience is it aimed at and how does it differ from the rest of defis like aave or comp?
A: Key piece in this one is that we’ll be launching stake based groups, where there is a stake requirement for users to access ‘select’ influencer style groups, and the group creators will earn yield based on the popularity of the groups.
Q: Anticipating the launch of OYA. How will you build liquidity across sylo?
How confident are you that sylo smart wallets will not experience downtime and lags during peak business hours?
A: Best part about decentralization is that it leverages the power of every user's device. so rather than relying on central servers in locations that may be far off, it leverages the power of these little supercomputers we now have in our pockets. It definitely hasn’t been easy to build, and 100% we’ve had a shitload of bugs over the last 5 years we have been building the core tech. What we’re about to release is 5 years of dev and learnings all wrapped up into a major new release. Should be pretty good. we’re hoping :)
Q: Many people evaluate projects based on their token value, not the technologies/features the project possesses. How can your team add educational value to their investors so that more people understand your project than the price?
Users often care less about technology, but rather the value of the token. How do you manage to strike a balance between developing the technology and also improving the value of the token?
A: definitely. we’ve put a major focus on app UX and user adoption on the app side. in terms of the core tech, we push out a LOT of content (check out blog and website, etc), we try to get as much info as poss out into the wild regarding the fundamental nature of what we’ve built. the scope of our tech goes far beyond what we’re just using it for now. we've got a framework to enable digital communications without any centralized architecture, it's a pretty big thing.
Q: Do you agree that continue evolving and Fast Adoption must done by many projects in able to survive this Crypto World in the Long term, so What are the continuous upgrades and Adoption of $sylo?
A: definitely. adoption is key now. we’ve had every project from new ones to the largest market cap in the game building tech. we need users now, that’s the next wave. we’ve been focused from day 1 on creating an app UX that people will use, independent of the backroom tech. people can’t be adopted just because of the tech, they have to get good UX and want to use it. I’d encourage you to try out the app!
Q: I saw many people said that NFTs are the next ‘Trend’. I also saw some use-cases of NFTs in the crypto space. How do you think about the evolution of NFTs in crypto space and the real world?
A: NFTs are really cool. I think one of the kick-ass use cases for them is for them to become representations of the real world good as digital replacements essentially. represent a seat at a football stadium or a real-world asset. this is a much bigger topic that can elaborate on right now haha
Q: In the context of the advent of digital currencies by central banks, what does Smart Money mean for Sylo, and how does its infrastructure improve the form of money?
A: When we say smart money, we’re simply referring to leveraging the capabilities of programmable money, the money you can bake rules into, vs fiat ‘dumb’ money, which doesn’t have those capabilities. and then going places and providing benefits that can only be provided by programmable money. so many possibilities!!
Q: Can other dApps be built on the Sylo Protocol? If so, what range of apps do you expect to adopt your model, and what benefits come with building on Sylo?
A: yip they can. if you want to check one out, you can grab the app, then go to this page and scan the QR, it will import a connected app directly into the SYLO app UX: https://sylo.io/wallet/sylo-experiences/
Closing Remarks
Eric: Okay. so that's a wrap.
@dorian_nz please invite people to your official channels.
Dorian: Thanks, guys. Jump over to https://t.me/sylo_io and hit our community admins up with any Qs I didn’t get a chance to answer, they’ll tee up another AMA soon 👍
Thanks @ERCSU appreciate the opportunity to chat with the community 🙌
Eric: Thanks, everyone. really good solid project here.
